Onondaga County, New York Genealogy

Guide to Onondaga County, New York ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

This page describes sources of genealogical data about Onondaga County, New York Genealogy families, including links to smaller localities at the bottom of this page. New York-related pages show useful statewide sources. United States pages explain the terminology and contents of genealogical records.

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[4]

1581–1917New York, Family Bible Records at Ancestry– ($); Index. Database is a collection of genealogically important records taken from the Bibles of colony and state residents. Reveals the Bible's original owner, brief record of descendants,and a particular event such as birth or marriage as recorded in Bible.

For information and tips on using and accessing online census records, see New York Census.

1820 United States Census: The American Pomeroy Historic Genealogical Association (APHGA) found that the 1820 census was incorrectly microfilmed, with several pages out of sequence for Onondaga County. Both the Ancestry and Heritage Quest indices placed household from Manilus in neighboring Cicero. Corrected indices are free of charge from APHGA and are posted online.

Deaths are included for the 12 months prior to the census, 1849-50, 1859-60, 1869-70, and 1879-80 beginning 1 June and ending 31 May of the census year.[5]

Basic contents of the records include: Name, sex, age, color, marital status, place of birth, month of death, occupation, and cause of death. 1870 also has parents' birthplace. 1880 lists how long a resident of the county.

New York State 1865 and 1875 Census Marriage, Mortality; and 1865 Soldier Mortality records:

Images available online at New York State Census, 1865 and New York State Census, 1875. Click on the link to go to the page, then click on the ‘Browse through images’ link and select your county, then select an ancestor's town and browse to the end of the population schedule until you find the Marriage, Mortality, and 1865 soldier mortality schedules.

Includes marriages and deaths for the 12 months prior to the census, ending 1 June of the census year.

Marriage entry content: Husband's name, wife's name, ages and previous marital status, month and day and place of marriage, and church or civil ceremony.

Death entry content: Name, age, sex, color, marital status, month and day of death, native state or country, occupation and cause of death.

Church records are good substitutes for birth, marriage, and death information and are most often found on a local city/town or county level. Published and manuscript church records can be found at public, university, and private libraries.

For a brief general history of denominations and a guide to finding various New York denomination's records, see New York Church Records Wiki page. List of Churches and Church Parishes

Rootsweb message board for Onondaga County, New York Genealogy has many information threads about families that resided in that county. There is a search engine that allows you to search by surname and topic.

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See New York Land and Property for more details, especially about the papers generated in New York State by large speculative land companies.

Original land records in Onondaga County, New York Genealogy began in 1794. These records are housed at the Onondaga County Clerks Office in Syracuse.

Town registers. The New York town clerks kept a bound register of all soldiers from their town serving in the Civil War 1861-1865. Registers are arranged by county, and town. Some town registers are missing. The registers include an index at the start of each town.

Content. Many register entries include full name, residence, date and place of birth, parents names, marital status, date of enlistment and muster and rank, discharges, death, or promotion.

Many Newspaper records for Onondaga County have been microfilmed or abstracted. Some of those copies are available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. For a listing of their holdings, see the topic details from their catalog.

1827–1962 Onondaga County Poorhouse Ledger and Onondaga County Hospital Ledgers FHL Film 1993147(first of 12 films). Microfilm of original ledgers at the town hall, Onondaga, New York. Includes town, date, name, age, admission and discharge, nativity, cause of pauperism, charges per inmate, deaths and transfers, pauper children bound out, their ages and to whom bound, and other reports. Birth records include baby number, name, date of birth, sex, alive or stillborn, sex, legimacy; and parents' name, nativity, occupation, nativity, age, color and number of other children. Death records include number and name of corpse, date of death and burial, relative's name and residence, and who claimed body. Onondaga County poorhouse, located on Onondaga Hill four miles from Syracuse opened for the reception of paupers, December 17, 1827.

Probate records including original estates and wills for New York are held in the office of the county Surrogate Court beginning in 1787, or when the county was formed. Prior to 1787, most are housed at the New York State Archives. See New York Probate Records for more information about using probate records. Content: Probate Records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.Record types: Wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distribution.

Probate Petitions

In 1830, state law required the Surrogate Court clerk to issue a probate petition for a deceased individual with property. This petition, unique to New York, usually lists the deceased's death date. It also lists the heirs, their relationship to the deceased, and their residence. Alice Eichholz, Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources, 3rd ed. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Pub., 2004), 479. At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27rb 2004. Henry B. Hoff, "Navigating New York Probate," American Ancestors 12 (Fall 2011): 57.

These petitions are often found in the estate files and can be obtained from the county Surrogate Court.

Original county-by-county New York, Probate Records, 1629-1971 are available free online at FamilySearch. To access these records, click Historical Records below, then click "Browse through 1,630,900 images". Then select the county name, and then the probate records and time of interest.

Cornell University, Guide to Historical Resources in Onondaga County, New York Repositories. ([Ithaca, New York]: New York Historical Resources Center, Olin Library, Cornell University, 1985). At various libraries; FHL Book 974.765 A3g v. 1–3 and film 1320833 Items 1-3. Includes index. Includes references to some family histories and genealogies. Contents: v. 1. Resources in Syracuse University Special Collections, George Arents Research Library -- v. 2. Resources in Syracuse University Archives -- v. 3. Resources in public libraries, museums, historical societies and medical centers.

Genealogical resources: Research Center and Online Database of archival holdings. Research service for remote patrons available for a fee. Vertical files include biographical and genealogical information as well as town files for all towns in Onondaga County.

The Onondaga County Clerk's office has land, divorce, court, naturalizatoin miliatry and state census records. The Surrogate Court has probate records. For further information about where the records for Onondaga County are held, see the Onondaga County Courthouse page.

Town records in New York may include early births, marriages, deaths, divorces, local histories, selected military records, and town meeting minutes. Vital records from 1880/1882 are kept by town and village clerks, although some (Kent’s and Putnam Valley’s) are available in the County Historian’s Office. For further details, try the links to individual town Wiki pages found in Places. See also:

Gordon L. Remington, New York Towns, Villages, and Cities: A Guide to Genealogical Sources (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002). NEHGS online edition; At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 974.7 D27r. Alphabetical list including date founded, if a town history exists, church and cemetery sources, and if a Civil War register (TCR) exists.

Onondaga County is unusual in New York state because birth, and death records and some marriage records for Onondaga County are on file with the Office of Vital Statistics in Syracuse. Search request forms are available at the Office of Vital Statistics, or may be found online or requested by mail. (Fees apply for both a record search and for a document copy.)

Marriage records are usually found at the office of the town clerk. See the heading Places on this wiki page for links to local community wiki pages and their available records. See New York Vital Records for a discussion about beginning dates and availability of vital records in New York.

Birth certificates for the City of Syracuse are available beginning in 1873, and for the rest of Onondaga County as early as 1883. Reporting of births was required beginning in 1914, so persons born before that year may not have a record on file. If a record has been on file for over 75 years, and the person is known to be deceased, anyone may request it. If the record has been on file for less than 75 years, the requester must be able to prove that he or she is in the direct line of descent by providing identification and other supporting documentation (e.g. birth certificates showing descent). Contact the Office of Vital Statistics for more information.

1827–1962 Onondaga County Poorhouse Ledger and Onondaga County Hospital Ledgers FHL Film 1993147(first of 12 films). Microfilm of original ledgers at the town hall, Onondaga, New York. Includes town, date, name, age, admission and discharge, nativity, cause of pauperism, charges per inmate, deaths and transfers, pauper children bound out, their ages and to whom bound, and other reports. Birth records include baby number, name, date of birth, sex, alive or stillborn, sex, legimacy; and parents' name, nativity, occupation, nativity, age, color and number of other children. Death records include number and name of corpse, date of death and burial, relative's name and residence, and who claimed body. Onondaga County poorhouse, located on Onondaga Hill four miles from Syracuse opened for the reception of paupers, December 17, 1827.

Early marriages were sometimes recorded on the town level and the years vary by town. (List of towns) In 1880, town clerks were to record the marriage and a copy was sent to the New York State Department of Health (state level). Town clerks continue to record marriages. Marriages were recorded by the Onondaga County clerk starting in 1908 and go until 1938.

1800–1855New York Marriage Notices at Ancestry– ($); Index. This database is a collection of marriage notices published in newspapers around the state. Contains name of bride and groom, marriage date, marriage location, residence, and newspaper found in.

Death certificates for the City of Syracuse beginning in 1873, and for the rest of Onondaga County as early as 1883. If a record has been on file for over 50 years, anyone may request it. If it has been on file for less than 50 years, the requester must be able to prove that he or she is in the direct line of descent by providing identification and other supporting documentation (e.g. birth certificates showing descent). Contact the Office of Vital Statistics for more information.

1827–1962 Onondaga County Poorhouse Ledger and Onondaga County Hospital Ledgers FHL Film 1993147(first of 12 films). Microfilm of original ledgers at the town hall, Onondaga, New York. Includes town, date, name, age, admission and discharge, nativity, cause of pauperism, charges per inmate, deaths and transfers, pauper children bound out, their ages and to whom bound, and other reports. Birth records include baby number, name, date of birth, sex, alive or stillborn, sex, legimacy; and parents' name, nativity, occupation, nativity, age, color and number of other children. Death records include number and name of corpse, date of death and burial, relative's name and residence, and who claimed body. Onondaga County poorhouse, located on Onondaga Hill four miles from Syracuse opened for the reception of paupers, December 17, 1827.

Additional resources for Onondaga County births, marriages and deaths may be found in the New York, Onondaga– Vital Records topic page of the FamilySearch Catalog . Copies of books found in the FamilySearch Catalog may be found in WorldCat catalog and ordered from your local library through interlibrary loan. Explore how to search the FamilySearch Catalog and the Worldcat Online Catalog.

↑Compare the more northerly route in Handybook, 849, with the more southerly route described in Wikipedia contributors, "New York State Route 5" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Route_5 (accessed 28 June 2011).